This post is the second in a series about controlling other applications from Excel using VBA. In the first part we looked at the basics of how to reference other applications using Early Binding or Late Binding. In this post, we will look at how we can automate Word from Excel even though we don’t know any VBA code for Word… yet. The process we will use for this is as follows:
- Enable the Word Developer menu
- Record a Word macro
- Add the code to Excel VBA and amend
- Record macros in Excel if necessary
- Repeat the previous steps until macro complete
I am not an Excel VBA expert (I’m more of an Excel VBA tinkerer), and I am certainly not a Word VBA expert. The process I am about to show you may not create the most efficient code, but I know this process works, because I have used it myself to automate lots tasks using Microsoft Word.
Enable the Word Developer menu
If you have enabled the Excel Developer menu it is the same process in Word.
In Word: File -> Options -> Customize Ribbon
Then tick the Developer Ribbon option, OK.
Record a Word Macro
The key to the success of this method is taking small sections of code and building up a complex macro bit by bit. Using the Word Macro Recorder is again, similar to the Excel Macro recorder.
Click on: Developer -> Record Macro
For the example in this post, we will create a macro which will open a new Word document, then copy a chart from Excel and paste it into that Word document. We will tackle this one stage at a time. Firstly, lets create the macro to open a new word document.
Click – Developer -> Record Macro. The Record Macro window will open.
Make a note of the “Store macro in” option, as we will need to know where to find the recorded code later. Normal.dotm is fine for now. Click OK – the Macro Recorder is now running.
Open a new Word Document – File -> New -> Blank Document
Stop the Macro from recording – Developer -> Stop Recording
We can now view the code for opening a new Word Document in the Visual Basic Editor. Click: Developer -> Visual Basic.
Find the location of your recorded code in the Visual Basic Editor. In this example: Normal -> Modules -> NewMacros.
Your code should look like the following. It may be slightly different, but not significantly.
Sub Macro1() ' ' Macro1 Macro ' ' Documents.Add Template:="Normal", NewTemplate:=False, DocumentType:=0 Windows("Document1").Activate Windows("Document2").Activate End Sub
Add the code to Excel VBA and amend
Let’s head back to the Excel VBA Editor and use the Early Binding method to control to Microsoft Word. In the Visual Basic Editor click Tools -> References select Microsoft Word x.xx Object Library. Then click OK.
As we are using Early Binding we need to declare the Application as a variable as follows:
Dim WordApp As Word.Application Set WordApp = New Word.Application
Now copy and paste the code from the Word VBA Editor into the Excel VBA Editor.
The Word VBA code started with Documents.Add, all we have to do is add our application variable to the front of that line of code. Now becomes WordApp.Documents.Add . . .
Often, Selecting and Activating Objects is not required in VBA code, so I have not copied those statements into the code below.
Sub CreateWordDocument() 'Connect using Early Binding. 'Remember to set the reference to the Word Object Library 'In VBE Editor Tools -> References -> Microsoft Word x.xx Object Library Dim WordApp As Word.Application Set WordApp = New Word.Application WordApp.Documents.Add Template:="Normal", NewTemplate:=False, DocumentType:=0 WordApp.Visible = True 'New Apps will be hidden by default, so make visible Set WordApp = Nothing 'release the memory End Sub
A point to note, when an application is opened with VBA, it is normally opened in the background. To make the Word document visible I have added the following code:
WordApp.Visible = True
Record macros in Excel (if necessary)
If we want to copy Excel content into a Word document, we will need to copy that content using Excel VBA. We can use the Macro Recorder in Excel to obtain the VBA code for copying, then we can use the Word Macro Recorder to obtain the VBA code for pasting.
Macro Recording from Excel – selecting a worksheet and copying chart
Sheets("Sheet1").Select ActiveSheet.ChartObjects("Chart 1").Activate ActiveChart.ChartArea.Copy
Macro Recording from Word – pasting a chart into a document
Selection.PasteSpecial Link:=False, DataType:=wdPasteEnhancedMetafile, _ Placement:=wdInLine, DisplayAsIcon:=False
We can add both Macro recordings into our Excel macro. Remember to add WordApp. at the start of each statement of Word VBA code.
Sub CreateWordDocument() 'Connect using Early Binding. 'Remember to set the reference to the Word Object Library 'In VBE Editor Tools -> References -> Microsoft Word x.xx Object Library Dim WordApp As Word.Application Set WordApp = New Word.Application WordApp.Documents.Add Template:="Normal", NewTemplate:=False, DocumentType:=0 WordApp.Visible = True 'New Apps will be hidden by default, so make visible 'code copied from Excel Macro recorder Sheets("Sheet1").Select Selection.ChartObjects("Chart 1").ChartArea.Copy 'code copied from Word Macro recorder with WordApp. added to the front. WordApp.Selection.PasteSpecial Link:=False, DataType:=wdPasteEnhancedMetafile, _ Placement:=wdInLine, DisplayAsIcon:=False Set WordApp = Nothing 'release the memory End Sub
This code is not particularly efficient; it contains a few unnecessary sections code. However… it works!
Repeat the previous steps until macro complete
By repeating the same steps above; recording short actions, then transferring the code into Excel, we can slowly build up much more complex Macros. The key is to keep the actions short, if you do too many actions with the Macro Recorder, code starts to look long and scary.
If you’ve you tried to use the Macro Recorder before you will know that this is not as easy as it seems. And this simple tutorial may make you think it is easy, when it’s not. Sometimes, it can be quite frustrating trying to find out where the issues and errors are. The key to success is recording very short actions, such as those below and copying them into the Visual Basic Editor.
'Pressing the Enter Key to move to a new line in Word WordApp.Selection.TypeParagraph 'Turn on/off Bold Text WordApp.Selection.Font.Bold = wdToggle 'Change Font Size WordApp.Selection.Font.Size = 16 'Type some text WordApp.Selection.TypeText Text:="Here is some text"
You will soon build up a standard library of code that you can use to control Word for most basic tasks.
In recorded VBA code from Word, the word “Selection” in the code often refers to the document itself. It is possible to make the code a little bit more efficient by declaring the document as a variable. If we were opening a specific document, we could include this at the start, just below the declaration of the application.
'Declare a specific document as a variable Dim WordDocument As Object Set WordDocument = WordApp.Documents.Open(sourceFileName)
Or, if we created a new document we could include the following below the declaration of the application variable.
'Delcare a new document as a variable Dim WordDocument As Object Set WordDocument = WordApp.Documents.Add Template:="Normal", _ NewTemplate:=False, DocumentType:=0
If we have created the document as a variable we can then reference the specific document. This code:
WordApp.Selection.TypeParagraph
Would become this code:
WordDocument.TypeParagraph
Or this code:
WordApp.Selection.TypeText Text:="Here is some text"
Would become this code:
WordDocument.TypeText Text:="Here is some text"
This method is much better, as it doesn’t rely on the Selection of the user being in the right place.
Conclusion
We have seen in this post that it is possible to create complex Macros to automate Word from Excel using VBA. By understanding how to declare variables for the application and documents we can create much more robust macros, even without knowing a lot of VBA code.
Related Posts:
- 5 quick ways to embed a Word document in Excel
- Controlling Powerpoint from Excel using VBA
- Edit links in Word using VBA
- How to link Excel to Word
About the author
Hey, I’m Mark, and I run Excel Off The Grid.
My parents tell me that at the age of 7 I declared I was going to become a qualified accountant. I was either psychic or had no imagination, as that is exactly what happened. However, it wasn’t until I was 35 that my journey really began.
In 2015, I started a new job, for which I was regularly working after 10pm. As a result, I rarely saw my children during the week. So, I started searching for the secrets to automating Excel. I discovered that by building a small number of simple tools, I could combine them together in different ways to automate nearly all my regular tasks. This meant I could work less hours (and I got pay raises!). Today, I teach these techniques to other professionals in our training program so they too can spend less time at work (and more time with their children and doing the things they love).
Do you need help adapting this post to your needs?
I’m guessing the examples in this post don’t exactly match your situation. We all use Excel differently, so it’s impossible to write a post that will meet everybody’s needs. By taking the time to understand the techniques and principles in this post (and elsewhere on this site), you should be able to adapt it to your needs.
But, if you’re still struggling you should:
- Read other blogs, or watch YouTube videos on the same topic. You will benefit much more by discovering your own solutions.
- Ask the ‘Excel Ninja’ in your office. It’s amazing what things other people know.
- Ask a question in a forum like Mr Excel, or the Microsoft Answers Community. Remember, the people on these forums are generally giving their time for free. So take care to craft your question, make sure it’s clear and concise. List all the things you’ve tried, and provide screenshots, code segments and example workbooks.
- Use Excel Rescue, who are my consultancy partner. They help by providing solutions to smaller Excel problems.
What next?
Don’t go yet, there is plenty more to learn on Excel Off The Grid. Check out the latest posts:
title | ms.prod | ms.assetid | ms.date | ms.localizationpriority |
---|---|---|---|---|
Getting started with VBA in Office |
office |
7208a87a-a567-41d9-af5b-0df3884c58d9 |
08/14/2019 |
high |
Are you facing a repetitive clean up of fifty tables in Word? Do you want a particular document to prompt the user for input when it opens? Are you having difficulty figuring out how to get your contacts from Microsoft Outlook into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet efficiently?
You can perform these tasks and accomplish a great deal more by using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) for Office—a simple, but powerful programming language that you can use to extend Office applications.
This article is for experienced Office users who want to learn about VBA and who want some insight into how programming can help them to customize Office.
The Office suite of applications has a rich set of features. There are many different ways to author, format, and manipulate documents, email, databases, forms, spreadsheets, and presentations. The great power of VBA programming in Office is that nearly every operation that you can perform with a mouse, keyboard, or a dialog box can also be done by using VBA. Further, if it can be done once with VBA, it can be done just as easily a hundred times. (In fact, the automation of repetitive tasks is one of the most common uses of VBA in Office.)
Beyond the power of scripting VBA to accelerate every-day tasks, you can use VBA to add new functionality to Office applications or to prompt and interact with the user of your documents in ways that are specific to your business needs. For example, you could write some VBA code that displays a pop up message that reminds users to save a document to a particular network drive the first time they try to save it.
This article explores some of the primary reasons to leverage the power of VBA programming. It explores the VBA language and the out-of-the-box tools that you can use to work with your solutions. Finally, it includes some tips and ways to avoid some common programming frustrations and missteps.
[!includeAdd-ins note]
When to use VBA and why
There are several principal reasons to consider VBA programming in Office.
Automation and repetition
VBA is effective and efficient when it comes to repetitive solutions to formatting or correction problems. For example, have you ever changed the style of the paragraph at the top of each page in Word? Have you ever had to reformat multiple tables that were pasted from Excel into a Word document or an Outlook email? Have you ever had to make the same change in multiple Outlook contacts?
If you have a change that you have to make more than ten or twenty times, it may be worth automating it with VBA. If it is a change that you have to do hundreds of times, it certainly is worth considering. Almost any formatting or editing change that you can do by hand, can be done in VBA.
Extensions to user interaction
There are times when you want to encourage or compel users to interact with the Office application or document in a particular way that is not part of the standard application. For example, you might want to prompt users to take some particular action when they open, save, or print a document.
Interaction between Office applications
Do you need to copy all of your contacts from Outlook to Word and then format them in some particular way? Or, do you need to move data from Excel to a set of PowerPoint slides? Sometimes simple copy and paste does not do what you want it to do, or it is too slow. Use VBA programming to interact with the details of two or more Office applications at the same time and then modify the content in one application based on the content in another.
Doing things another way
VBA programming is a powerful solution, but it is not always the optimal approach. Sometimes it makes sense to use other ways to achieve your aims.
The critical question to ask is whether there is an easier way. Before you begin a VBA project, consider the built-in tools and standard functionalities. For example, if you have a time-consuming editing or layout task, consider using styles or accelerator keys to solve the problem. Can you perform the task once and then use CTRL+Y (Redo) to repeat it? Can you create a new document with the correct format or template, and then copy the content into that new document?
Office applications are powerful; the solution that you need may already be there. Take some time to learn more about Office before you jump into programming.
Before you begin a VBA project, ensure that you have the time to work with VBA. Programming requires focus and can be unpredictable. Especially as a beginner, never turn to programming unless you have time to work carefully. Trying to write a «quick script» to solve a problem when a deadline looms can result in a very stressful situation. If you are in a rush, you might want to use conventional methods, even if they are monotonous and repetitive.
VBA Programming 101
Using code to make applications do things
You might think that writing code is mysterious or difficult, but the basic principles use every-day reasoning and are quite accessible. Microsoft Office applications are created in such a way that they expose things called objects that can receive instructions, in much the same way that a phone is designed with buttons that you use to interact with the phone. When you press a button, the phone recognizes the instruction and includes the corresponding number in the sequence that you are dialing. In programming, you interact with the application by sending instructions to various objects in the application. These objects are expansive, but they have their limits. They can only do what they are designed to do, and they will only do what you instruct them to do.
For example, consider the user who opens a document in Word, makes a few changes, saves the document, and then closes it. In the world of VBA programming, Word exposes a Document object. By using VBA code, you can instruct the Document object to do things such as Open, Save, or Close.
The following section discusses how objects are organized and described.
The Object Model
Developers organize programming objects in a hierarchy, and that hierarchy is called the object model of the application. Word, for example, has a top-level Application object that contains a Document object. The Document object contains Paragraph objects and so on. Object models roughly mirror what you see in the user interface. They are a conceptual map of the application and its capabilities.
The definition of an object is called a class, so you might see these two terms used interchangeably. Technically, a class is the description or template that is used to create, or instantiate, an object.
Once an object exists, you can manipulate it by setting its properties and calling its methods. If you think of the object as a noun, the properties are the adjectives that describe the noun and the methods are the verbs that animate the noun. Changing a property changes some quality of appearance or behavior of the object. Calling one of the object methods causes the object to perform some action.
The VBA code in this article runs against an open Office application where many of the objects that the code manipulates are already up and running; for example, the Application itself, the Worksheet in Excel, the Document in Word, the Presentation in PowerPoint, the Explorer and Folder objects in Outlook. Once you know the basic layout of the object model and some key properties of the Application that give access to its current state, you can start to extend and manipulate that Office application with VBA in Office.
Methods
In Word, for example, you can change the properties and invoke the methods of the current Word document by using the ActiveDocument property of the Application object. This ActiveDocument property returns a reference to the Document object that is currently active in the Word application. «Returns a reference to» means «gives you access to.»
The following code does exactly what it says; that is, it saves the active document in the application.
Application.ActiveDocument.Save
Read the code from left to right, «In this Application, with the Document referenced by ActiveDocument, invoke the Save method.» Be aware that Save is the simplest form of method; it does not require any detailed instructions from you. You instruct a Document object to Save and it does not require any more input from you.
If a method requires more information, those details are called parameters. The following code runs the SaveAs method, which requires a new name for the file.
Application.ActiveDocument.SaveAs ("New Document Name.docx")
Values listed in parentheses after a method name are the parameters. Here, the new name for the file is a parameter for the SaveAs method.
Properties
You use the same syntax to set a property that you use to read a property. The following code executes a method to select cell A1 in Excel and then to set a property to put something in that cell.
Application.ActiveSheet.Range("A1").Select Application.Selection.Value = "Hello World"
The first challenge in VBA programming is to get a feeling for the object model of each Office application and to read the object, method, and property syntax. The object models are similar in all Office applications, but each is specific to the kind of documents and objects that it manipulates.
In the first line of the code snippet, there is the Application object, Excel this time, and then the ActiveSheet, which provides access to the active worksheet. After that is a term not as familiar, Range, which means «define a range of cells in this way.» The code instructs Range to create itself with just A1 as its defined set of cells. In other words, the first line of code defines an object, the Range, and runs a method against it to select it. The result is automatically stored in another property of the Application called Selection.
The second line of code sets the Value property of Selection to the text «Hello World», and that value appears in cell A1.
The simplest VBA code that you write might simply gain access to objects in the Office application that you are working with and set properties. For example, you could get access to the rows in a table in Word and change their formatting in your VBA script.
That sounds simple, but it can be incredibly useful; once you can write that code, you can harness all of the power of programming to make those same changes in several tables or documents, or make them according to some logic or condition. For a computer, making 1000 changes is no different from making 10, so there is an economy of scale here with larger documents and problems, and that is where VBA can really shine and save you time.
Macros and the Visual Basic Editor
Now that you know something about how Office applications expose their object models, you are probably eager to try calling object methods, setting object properties, and responding to object events. To do so, you must write your code in a place and in a way that Office can understand; typically, by using the Visual Basic Editor. Although it is installed by default, many users don’t know that it is even available until it is enabled on the ribbon.
All Office applications use the ribbon. One tab on the ribbon is the Developer tab, where you access the Visual Basic Editor and other developer tools. Because Office does not display the Developer tab by default, you must enable it by using the following procedure:
To enable the Developer tab
-
On the File tab, choose Options to open the Options dialog box.
-
Choose Customize Ribbon on the left side of the dialog box.
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Under Choose commands from on the left side of the dialog box, select Popular Commands.
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Under Customize the Ribbon on the right side of the dialog box, select Main Tabs in the drop down list box, and then select the Developer checkbox.
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Choose OK.
[!NOTE]
In Office 2007, you displayed the Developer tab by choosing the Office button, choosing Options, and then selecting the Show Developer tab in Ribbon check box in the Popular category of the Options dialog box.
After you enable the Developer tab, it is easy to find the Visual Basic and Macros buttons.
Figure 1. Buttons on the Developer tab
Security issues
To protect Office users against viruses and dangerous macro code, you cannot save macro code in a standard Office document that uses a standard file extension. Instead, you must save the code in a file with a special extension. For example you cannot save macros in a standard Word document with a .docx extension; instead, you must use a special Word Macro-Enabled Document with a .docm extension.
When you open a .docm file, Office security might still prevent the macros in the document from running, with or without telling you. Examine the settings and options in the Trust Center on all Office applications. The default setting disables macro from running, but warns you that macros have been disabled and gives you the option to turn them back on for that document.
You can designate specific folders where macros can run by creating Trusted Locations, Trusted Documents, or Trusted Publishers. The most portable option is to use Trusted Publishers, which works with digitally signed documents that you distribute. For more information about the security settings in a particular Office application, open the Options dialog box, choose Trust Center, and then choose Trust Center Settings.
[!NOTE]
Some Office applications, like Outlook, save macros by default in a master template on your local computer. Although that strategy reduces the local security issues on your own computer when you run your own macros, it requires a deployment strategy if you want to distribute your macro.
Recording a macro
When you choose the Macro button on the Developer tab, it opens the Macros dialog box, which gives you access to VBA subroutines or macros that you can access from a particular document or application. The Visual Basic button opens the Visual Basic Editor, where you create and edit VBA code.
Another button on the Developer tab in Word and Excel is the Record Macro button, which automatically generates VBA code that can reproduce the actions that you perform in the application. Record Macro is a terrific tool that you can use to learn more about VBA. Reading the generated code can give you insight into VBA and provide a stable bridge between your knowledge of Office as a user and your knowledge as a programmer. The only caveat is that the generated code can be confusing because the Macro editor must make some assumptions about your intentions, and those assumptions are not necessarily accurate.
To record a macro
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Open Excel to a new Workbook and choose the Developer tab in the ribbon. Choose Record Macro and accept all of the default settings in the Record Macro dialog box, including Macro1 as the name of the macro and This Workbook as the location.
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Choose OK to begin recording the macro. Note how the button text changes to Stop Recording. Choose that button the instant you complete the actions that you want to record.
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Choose cell B1 and type the programmer’s classic first string: Hello World. Stop typing and look at the Stop Recording button; it is grayed out because Excel is waiting for you to finish typing the value in the cell.
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Choose cell B2 to complete the action in cell B1, and then choose Stop Recording.
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Choose Macros on the Developer tab, select Macro1 if it is not selected, and then choose Edit to view the code from Macro1 in the Visual Basic Editor.
Figure 2. Macro code in Visual Basic Editor
Looking at the code
The macro that you created should look similar to the following code.
Sub Macro1() ' ' Macro1 Macro ' ' Range("B1").Select ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = "Hello World" Range("B2").Select End Sub
Be aware of the similarities to the earlier code snippet that selected text in cell A1, and the differences. In this code, cell B1 is selected, and then the string «Hello World» is applied to the cell that has been made active. The quotes around the text specify a string value as opposed to a numeric value.
Remember how you chose cell B2 to display the Stop Recording button again? That action shows up as a line of code as well. The macro recorder records every keystroke.
The lines of code that start with an apostrophe and colored green by the editor are comments that explain the code or remind you and other programmers the purpose of the code. VBA ignores any line, or portion of a line, that begins with a single quote. Writing clear and appropriate comments in your code is an important topic, but that discussion is out of the scope of this article. Subsequent references to this code in the article don’t include those four comment lines.
When the macro recorder generates the code, it uses a complex algorithm to determine the methods and the properties that you intended. If you don’t recognize a given property, there are many resources available to help you. For example, in the macro that you recorded, the macro recorder generated code that refers to the FormulaR1C1 property. Not sure what that means?
[!NOTE]
Be aware that Application object is implied in all VBA macros. The code that you recorded works with Application. at the beginning of each line.
Using Developer Help
Select FormulaR1C1 in the recorded macro and press F1. The Help system runs a quick search, determines that the appropriate subjects are in the Excel Developer section of the Excel Help, and lists the FormulaR1C1 property. You can choose the link to read more about the property, but before you do, be aware of the Excel Object Model Reference link near the bottom of the window. Choose the link to view a long list of objects that Excel uses in its object model to describe the Worksheets and their components.
Choose any one of those to see the properties and methods that apply to that particular object, along with cross references to different related options. Many Help entries also have brief code examples that can help you. For example, you can follow the links in the Borders object to see how to set a border in VBA.
Worksheets(1).Range("A1").Borders.LineStyle = xlDouble
Editing the code
The Borders code looks different from the recorded macro. One thing that can be confusing with an object model is that there is more than one way to address any given object, cell A1 in this example.
Sometimes the best way to learn programming is to make minor changes to some working code and see what happens as a result. Try it now. Open Macro1 in the Visual Basic Editor and change the code to the following.
Sub Macro1() Worksheets(1).Range("A1").Value = "Wow!" Worksheets(1).Range("A1").Borders.LineStyle = xlDouble End Sub
[!TIP]
Use Copy and Paste as much as possible when working with code to avoid typing errors.
You don’t need to save the code to try it out, so return to the Excel document, choose Macros on the Developer tab, choose Macro1, and then choose Run. Cell A1 now contains the text Wow! and has a double-line border around it.
Figure 3. Results of your first macro
You just combined macro recording, reading the object model documentation, and simple programming to make a VBA program that does something. Congratulations!
Did not work? Read on for debugging suggestions in VBA.
Programming tips and tricks
Start with examples
The VBA community is very large; a search on the Web can almost always yield an example of VBA code that does something similar to what you want to do. If you cannot find a good example, try to break the task down into smaller units and search on each of those, or try to think of a more common, but similar problem. Starting with an example can save you hours of time.
That does not mean that free and well-thought-out code is on the Web waiting for you to come along. In fact, some of the code that you find might have bugs or mistakes. The idea is that the examples you find online or in VBA documentation give you a head start. Remember that learning programming requires time and thought. Before you get in a big rush to use another solution to solve your problem, ask yourself whether VBA is the right choice for this problem.
Make a simpler problem
Programming can get complex quickly. It’s critical, especially as a beginner, that you break the problem down to the smallest possible logical units, then write and test each piece in isolation. If you have too much code in front of you and you get confused or muddled, stop and set the problem aside. When you come back to the problem, copy out a small piece of the problem into a new module, solve that piece, get the code working, and test it to ensure that it works. Then move on to the next part.
Bugs and debugging
There are two main types of programming errors: syntax errors, which violate the grammatical rules of the programming language, and run-time errors, which look syntactically correct, but fail when VBA attempts to execute the code.
Although they can be frustrating to fix, syntax errors are easy to catch; the Visual Basic Editor beeps and flashes at you if you type a syntax error in your code.
For example, string values must be surrounded by double quotes in VBA. To find out what happens when you use single quotes instead, return to the Visual Basic Editor and replace the «Wow!» string in the code example with ‘Wow!’ (that is, the word Wow enclosed in single quotes). If you choose the next line, the Visual Basic Editor reacts. The error «Compile error: Expected: expression» is not that helpful, but the line that generates the error turns red to tell you that you have a syntax error in that line and as a result, this program will not run.
Choose OK and change the text back to»Wow!».
Runtime errors are harder to catch because the programming syntax looks correct, but the code fails when VBA tries to execute it.
For example, open the Visual Basic Editor and change the Value property name to ValueX in your Macro, deliberately introducing a runtime error since the Range object does not have a property called ValueX. Go back to the Excel document, open the Macros dialog box and run Macro1 again. You should see a Visual Basic message box that explains the run-time error with the text, «Object doesn’t support this property of method.» Although that text is clear, choose Debug to find out more.
When you return to the Visual Basic Editor, it is in a special debug mode that uses a yellow highlight to show you the line of code that failed. As expected, the line that includes the ValueX property is highlighted.
You can make changes to VBA code that is running, so change ValueX back to Value and choose the little green play button underneath the Debug menu. The program should run normally again.
It’s a good idea to learn how to use the debugger more deliberately for longer, more complex programs. At a minimum, learn a how to set break-points to stop execution at a point where you want to take a look at the code, how to add watches to see the values of different variables and properties as the code runs, and how to step through the code line by line. These options are all available in the Debug menu and serious debugger users typically memorize the accompanying keyboard shortcuts.
Using reference materials well
To open the Developer Reference that is built into Office Help, open the Help reference from any Office application by choosing the question mark in the ribbon or by pressing F1. Then, to the right of the Search button, choose the dropdown arrow to filter the contents. Choose Developer Reference. If you don’t see the table of contents in the left panel, choose the little book icon to open it, and then expand the Object Model Reference from there.
Figure 5. Filtering on developer Help applies to all Office applications
Time spent browsing the Object Model reference pays off. After you understand the basics of VBA syntax and the object model for the Office application that you are working with, you advance from guesswork to methodical programming.
Of course the Microsoft Office Developer Center is an excellent portal for articles, tips, and community information.
Searching forums and groups
All programmers get stuck sometimes, even after reading every reference article they can find and losing sleep at night thinking about different ways to solve a problem. Fortunately, the Internet has fostered a community of developers who help each other solve programming problems.
Any search on the Web for «office developer forum» reveals several discussion groups. You can search on «office development» or a description of your problem to discover forums, blog posts, and articles as well.
If you have done everything that you can to solve a problem, don’t be afraid to post your question to a developers forum. These forums welcome posts from newer programmers and many of the experienced developers are glad to help.
The following are a few points of etiquette to follow when you post to a developer forum:
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Before you post, look on the site for an FAQ or for guidelines that members want you to follow. Ensure that you post content that is consistent with those guidelines and in the correct section of the forum.
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Include a clear and complete code sample, and consider editing your code to clarify it for others if it is part of a longer section of code.
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Describe your problem clearly and concisely, and summarize any steps that you have taken to solve the problem. Take the time to write your post as well as you can, especially if you are flustered or in a hurry. Present the situation in a way that will make sense to readers the first time that they read the problem statement.
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Be polite and express your appreciation.
Going further with programming
Although this article is short and only scratches the surface of VBA and programming, it is hopefully enough to get you started.
This section briefly discusses a few more key topics.
Variables
In the simple examples in this article you manipulated objects that the application had already created. You might want to create your own objects to store values or references to other objects for temporary use in your application. These are called variables.
To use a variable in VBA, must tell VBA which type of object the variable represents by using the Dim statement. You then set its value and use it to set other variables or properties.
Dim MyStringVariable As String MyStringVariable = "Wow!" Worksheets(1).Range("A1").Value = MyStringVariable
Branching and looping
The simple programs in this article execute one line at a time, from the top down. The real power in programming comes from the options that you have to determine which lines of code to execute, based on one or more conditions that you specify. You can extend those capabilities even further when you can repeat an operation many times. For example, the following code extends Macro1.
Sub Macro1() If Worksheets(1).Range("A1").Value = "Yes!" Then Dim i As Integer For i = 2 To 10 Worksheets(1).Range("A" & i).Value = "OK! " & i Next i Else MsgBox "Put Yes! in cell A1" End If End Sub
Type or paste the code into the Visual Basic Editor and then run it. Follow the directions in the message box that appears and change the text in cell A1 from Wow! to Yes! and run it again to see the power of looping. This code snippet demonstrates variables, branching and looping. Read it carefully after you see it in action and try to determine what happens as each line executes.
All of my Office applications: example code
Here are a few scripts to try; each solves a real-world Office problem.
Create an email in Outlook
Sub MakeMessage() Dim OutlookMessage As Outlook.MailItem Set OutlookMessage = Application.CreateItem(olMailItem) OutlookMessage.Subject = "Hello World!" OutlookMessage.Display Set OutlookMessage = Nothing End Sub
Be aware that there are situations in which you might want to automate email in Outlook; you can use templates as well.
Delete empty rows in an Excel worksheet
Sub DeleteEmptyRows() SelectedRange = Selection.Rows.Count ActiveCell.Offset(0, 0).Select For i = 1 To SelectedRange If ActiveCell.Value = "" Then Selection.EntireRow.Delete Else ActiveCell.Offset(1, 0).Select End If Next i End Sub
Be aware that you can select a column of cells and run this macro to delete all rows in the selected column that have a blank cell.
Delete empty text boxes in PowerPoint
Sub RemoveEmptyTextBoxes() Dim SlideObj As Slide Dim ShapeObj As Shape Dim ShapeIndex As Integer For Each SlideObj In ActivePresentation.Slides For ShapeIndex = SlideObj.Shapes.Count To 1 Step -1 Set ShapeObj = SlideObj.Shapes(ShapeIndex) If ShapeObj.Type = msoTextBox Then If Trim(ShapeObj.TextFrame.TextRange.Text) = "" Then ShapeObj.Delete End If End If Next ShapeIndex Next SlideObj End Sub
Be aware that this code loops through all of the slides and deletes all text boxes that don’t have any text. The count variable decrements instead of increments because each time the code deletes an object, it removes that object from the collection, which reduces the count.
Copy a contact from Outlook to Word
Sub CopyCurrentContact() Dim OutlookObj As Object Dim InspectorObj As Object Dim ItemObj As Object Set OutlookObj = CreateObject("Outlook.Application") Set InspectorObj = OutlookObj.ActiveInspector Set ItemObj = InspectorObj.CurrentItem Application.ActiveDocument.Range.InsertAfter (ItemObj.FullName & " from " & ItemObj.CompanyName) End Sub
Be aware that this code copies the currently open contact in Outlook into the open Word document. This code only works if there is a contact currently open for inspection in Outlook.
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Иногда бывает необходимо перенести что-то из Excel в другое приложение. Я возьму для примера Word. Например скопировать ячейки и вставить. Обычно мы это так и делаем — скопировали в Excel, открыли Word — вставили. Но сделать это при помощи кода чуть сложнее, хотя если разобраться никаких сложностей нет. Ниже приведен пример кода, который открывает Word, открывает в нем определенный документ, копирует данные из Excel и вставляет в открытый документ Word.
Sub OpenWord() Dim objWrdApp As Object, objWrdDoc As Object 'создаем новое приложение Word Set objWrdApp = CreateObject("Word.Application") 'Можно так же сделать приложение Word видимым. По умолчанию открывается в скрытом режиме 'objWrdApp.Visible = True 'открываем документ Word - документ "Doc1.doc" должен существовать Set objWrdDoc = objWrdApp.Documents.Open("C:Doc1.doc") 'Копируем из Excel диапазон "A1:A10" Range("A1:A10").Copy 'вставляем скопированные ячейки в Word - в начала документа objWrdDoc.Range(0).Paste 'закрываем документ Word с сохранением objWrdDoc.Close True ' False - без сохранения 'закрываем приложение Word - обязательно! objWrdApp.Quit 'очищаем переменные Word - обязательно! Set objWrdDoc = Nothing: Set objWrdApp = Nothing End Sub
Скачать пример:
Tips_Macro_OpenWord.xls (49,5 KiB, 6 264 скачиваний)
В файле-примере, приложенном к данной статье, в комментариях к коду есть несколько добавлений. Например, как вставить текст из ячеек в определенные закладки Word-а и как добавить новый документ, а не открывать уже имеющийся. Так же так есть код проверки — открыто ли приложение Word в данный момент. Порой это тоже может пригодиться, чтобы работать с запущенным приложением Word, а не создавать новое:
Sub Check_OpenWord() Dim objWrdApp As Object On Error Resume Next 'пытаемся подключится к объекту Word Set objWrdApp = GetObject(, "Word.Application") If objWrdApp Is Nothing Then 'если приложение закрыто - создаем новый экземпляр Set objWrdApp = CreateObject("Word.Application") 'делаем приложение видимым. По умолчанию открывается в скрытом режиме objWrdApp.Visible = True Else 'приложение открыто - выдаем сообщение MsgBox "Приложение Word уже открыто", vbInformation, "Check_OpenWord" End If End Sub
В принципе, активировать или вызвать(если закрыто) другое приложение Офиса можно одной строкой:
Sub Open_AnotherApp() Application.ActivateMicrosoftApp xlMicrosoftWord End Sub
но данный метод может пригодиться только в том случае, если Вам необходимо действительно лишь активировать другое приложение, но дальше обращаться к этому приложению Вы уже не сможете.
По сути, методами CreateObject и GetObject можно обратиться к любому стороннему приложению(например Internet Explorer). Куда важнее при обращении к этим объектам знать объектную модель того приложения, к которому обращаетесь. Чтобы увидеть свойства и методы объектной модели приложения, можно в редакторе VBA подключить необходимую библиотеку, объявить переменную, назначив ей тип приложения. Покажу на примере того же Word-а.
Для начала открываем меню Tools -References:
Подключаем библиотеку:
Затем объявляем переменную и присваиваем ей тип нужного приложения:
Sub OpenWord() Dim objWrdApp As Word.Application Set objWrdApp = New Word.Application objWrdApp.Visible = True End Sub
Если теперь в редакторе, внутри этой процедуры в любом месте ниже объявления переменной набрать objWrdApp и точку, то сразу после ввода точки выпадет меню, в котором будут перечислены все доступные методы и свойства этого приложения.
Так же можно нажать F2 и через поиск найти Word и просмотреть все методы и свойства данного приложения.
Метод установки ссылки на библиотеку приложения через Tools—References называют еще ранним связыванием. Подобный метод позволяет создать ссылку на приложение быстрее и, как описано выше, предоставляет разработчику доступ к визуальному отображению свойств и методов объекта. Но есть существенный минус: если в своем коде Вы установите ссылку на Word 12 Object Libbary(Word 2007), то на ПК с установленным Word 2003 получите ошибку MISSING, т.к. Word 2003 относится к библиотеке Word 11 Object Libbary. Подробнее можно прочитать в статье Ошибка — Cant find project or library.
Метод же CreateObject еще называется методом позднего связывания. Применяя его не возникнет проблем с MISSING, очень часто возникающих при раннем связывании. Поэтому я рекомендовал бы при разработке использовать раннее связывание для удобства использования свойств и методов(если Вы их не знаете), а перед распространением приложения в коде заменить все именованные константы(типа wdLine) на числовые константы(для wdLine это 5) и применить позднее связывание. Посмотреть числовое значение константы можно просто записав её в коде, начать выполнение кода через F8 и навести курсор мыши на эту константу. Всплывающая подсказка покажет числовое значение. Так же можно отобразить окно Immediate(View —Immediate Window или сочетание клавиш Ctrl+G), записать вопросительный знак и вставить эту константу и нажать Enter:
?wdLine
ниже будет выведено числовое представление этой константы.
А заменять эти константы их числовыми значениями в случае с поздним связыванием необходимо, т.к. Excel не знает их значений.
Попробую пояснить поподробнее про эти константы и почему их надо заменять какими-то числами: при подключении библиотеки Wordа(Word 12 Object Libbary) мы так же подключаем и все свойства, методы и константы, которые доступны из Wordа. И их использование напрямую становится доступно из Excel и мы можем смело написать что-то вроде wbLine и Excel поймет эту константу. При позднем же связывании мы уже не подключаем библиотеки Word(во избежание ошибок совместимости) и как следствие — методы, свойства и константы Wordа для Excel становятся чем-то неизвестным и не документированным и мы получим ошибку «Variable not defined»(если включена директива Option Explicit) при попытке назначить свойство через wdLine. Если же Option Explicit не включена — то хоть ошибки не будет, но и код будет работать неверно, т.к. для неизвестной для Excel переменной wbLine будет назначено значение 0(Empty). Поэтому и надо все константы другого приложения заменять их числовыми значениями.
Главная ошибка новичка
И хочу так же упомянуть про ошибку, которую очень часто совершают при обращении к одному приложению из другого. Допустим, необходимо скопировать из Word все данные в Excel. Часто начинающие делают это так:
Sub OpenWord() Dim objWrdApp As Object, objWrdDoc As Object 'создаем новое приложение Word Set objWrdApp = CreateObject("Word.Application") 'Можно так же сделать приложение Word видимым. По умолчанию открывается в скрытом режиме 'objWrdApp.Visible = True 'открываем документ Word - документ "Doc1.doc" должен существовать Set objWrdDoc = objWrdApp.Documents.Open("C:Doc1.doc") 'Копируем из Word все данные, обращаясь к объекту Range документа Range.Copy 'вставляем скопированное в ячейку А1 активного листа Excel ActiveSheet.Paste 'закрываем документ Word без сохранения objWrdDoc.Close False 'закрываем приложение Word objWrdApp.Quit 'очищаем переменные Word - обязательно! Set objWrdDoc = Nothing: Set objWrdApp = Nothing End Sub
На строке Range.Copy обязательно получите ошибку от VBA, указывающую, что нужен аргумент для объекта. Можно попробовать добавить этот аргумент: Range(1).Copy. Но все равно получим ошибку. Можно, конечно, указать даже ячейки: Range(«A1»).Copy. Но это приведет к тому, что скопирована будет ячейка А1 активного листа Excel.
Все дело в том, что мы хотим скопировать данные из Word-а, выполняя при этом код из Excel. А у Excel тоже есть объект Range с другими аргументами. И если не указать какому приложению, листу или документу принадлежит Range, то по умолчанию он будет отнесен к тому приложению, из которого выполняется код. Т.е. к Excel. Если совсем кратко об этом — всегда надо указывать какому приложению или объекту принадлежит используемый объект или свойство. Правильно код должен выглядеть так:
Sub OpenWord() Dim objWrdApp As Object, objWrdDoc As Object 'создаем новое приложение Word Set objWrdApp = CreateObject("Word.Application") 'Можно так же сделать приложение Word видимым. По умолчанию открывается в скрытом режиме 'objWrdApp.Visible = True 'открываем документ Word - документ "Doc1.doc" должен существовать Set objWrdDoc = objWrdApp.Documents.Open("C:Doc1.doc") 'Копируем из Word все данные, обращаясь к объекту Range документа 'при этом перед Range явно указываем откуда его брать - из документа Word -objWrdDoc("C:Doc1.doc") objWrdDoc.Range.Copy 'вставляем скопированное из Word в активную ячейку активного листа Excel ActiveSheet.Paste 'закрываем документ Word без сохранения objWrdDoc.Close False 'закрываем приложение Word objWrdApp.Quit 'очищаем переменные Word - обязательно! Set objWrdDoc = Nothing: Set objWrdApp = Nothing End Sub
Вместо Range ту же ошибку делают и с Selection(потому что Selection часто присутствует в записанных макрорекордером макросах), т.к. этот объект есть и в Excel и в Word и без явного указания приложения будет относится к приложению, в котором записано.
В приложенном файле код немного отличается от представленных выше — в нем можно посмотреть как вставить текст из ячеек в определенные(созданные заранее) закладки Word-а. Это удобно для создания бланков в Word и заполнения их через Excel
Скачать пример:
Tips_Macro_OpenWord.xls (49,5 KiB, 6 264 скачиваний)
А в архиве ниже — практически готовое решение заполнения всевозможных бланков Word из Excel. Как это работает. У нас есть таблица Excel с данными для заполнения бланков заявлений на пособия:
Обращаю внимание, что в первой строке расположены метки. Они нужны для того, чтобы код мог понять значения какого столбца в какое место шаблона Word должны попасть. А в самом шаблоне Word мы должны проставить эти самые метки:
Фигурные скобки сделаны для того, чтобы код 100% искал и заменял только метку в шаблоне, исключая при этом замену случайного текста вне скобок(ведь слово «Должность» может встречаться и само по себе).
А здесь я схематично привел то, как будут происходить замены:
Сначала программа создаст новую папку, в которую и будет сохранять создаваемые файлы(имя папки состоит из даты и времени запуска кода). Далее программа циклом пройдется по каждой строке таблицы, создаст на основании шаблона Word(«Шаблон.doc») новый файл для этой строки, заполнит этот шаблона данными на основании меток, и сохранит созданный файл под новым именем. Сам файл шаблона при этом не изменяется — все метки в нем сохраняются как были настроены до запуска кода. Конкретно в приложенном коде значение для имени нового файла берется из первого столбца «ФИО с инициалами». Но это можно изменить в коде при необходимости. Делается это в этой строке:
'считываем фамилию с инициалами
sWDDocName = .Cells(lr, 1).Value
Что еще важно: файл шаблона Word должен находиться в той же папке, что и файл с кодом. Название файла в приложенном к статье файле должно быть «Шаблон.doc». Но его так же можно изменить, не забыв изменив его в коде в этой строке:
'имя шаблона Word с основным текстом и метками Const sWDTmpl As String = "Шаблон.doc"
В общем-то, если хоть чуть-чуть разбираетесь, то поменять можно многое. А для тех, кто не разбирается достаточно будет просто создавать метки в файле Word и обозначать ими столбца в таблице Excel. Количество столбцов и строк в таблице код определяет автоматически и при изменении размеров таблицы ничего изменять не надо. Главное, чтобы метки находились в первой строке, вторая строка — заголовок(необязательно), а с третьей строки начинаются данные, которые и используются для наполнения шаблонов.
Скачать пример:
Автосоздание бланков Word из таблицы Excel.zip (37,6 KiB, 1 470 скачиваний)
Примеры работы с тем же Outlook можно посмотреть в моих статьях:
Как отправить письмо из Excel?
Сохранить вложения из Outlook в указанную папку
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In this article, we will see how to access the various word objects using VBA in Excel and insert data from Excel to Word. This has many practical applications such as when you have to fill out a form multiple times with data from Excel or when you have to create a Word document with the same structure but different data each time and so on.
Before we go through individual controls, first let us have a look at how to access a Word document in Excel.
Step 1: Get the name and path of the Word Document that you need to modify. We will use the GetOpenFilename command for that.
fileName = Application.GetOpenFilename(, , "Select the word Document")Step 2: Check to see if Word is already running on the system.
Set oApp = GetObject(, "Word.Application")If Word is not running already, then start it
If Err.Number <> 0 Then Set oApp = CreateObject("Word.Application") End If
Step 3: Assign the selected Word file to a Word object so that we can access it.Set oDoc = oApp.Documents.Open(fileName) oApp.Visible = TrueNow that we know how to access to the Word document, let us see how to access the various controls in Word. In each of the below examples, we will need to add the above code.
Example 1: Bookmarks
In this example, we will see how to insert data from Excel after a bookmark in Word. Let us assume you have a bookmark named “Table1” in Word, where you be inserting a table from Excel. So, for simplicity, we will name that range in Excel as “Table1”.
Step 1: Access the bookmark
Set oBkMrk = oApp.ActiveDocument.Bookmarks("Table1")Step 2: Get the location where you want to insert the data
Set objRange = oBkMrk.Range.Characters.last ‘Position of the last character of the bookmark objRange.Start = objRange.Start + 1 ‘We need to start pasting from the next character
Step 3: Copy the table and paste it at that locationRange(“Table1”).Copy objRange.PasteExcelTable False, False, FalseThe PasteExcelTable method takes 3 arguments: LinkedToExcel, WordFormatting, RTF. We have set them all to False. Once you run the code, the Word Document will look like this
Example 2: Text boxes
In Word, the only way to assign a name to a shape is by using VBA (in contrast to Excel where this can be done using the formula bar). Secondly, Word does not force shapes to have unique names. So, accessing a text box by its name is not a very good option. The approach we will follow is referring to shapes by their index position.
Note: We are referring to text box created using drawing controls (Insert tab)
In this example we will loop through all the text boxes in Word and modify their text.Step 1: So, first loop through all the shapes in the Word document using the .Shapes collection
Step 2: Check if the shape is a textbox
Step 3: Manipulate the .TextFrame.TextRange.Text property, to copy text from Excel.Dim str As String Dim i As Integer i = 1 For Each shp In oDoc.Shapes If shp.Type = msoTextBox Then str = ThisWorkbook.Sheets("Sheet1").Cells(i, 1).Value shp.TextFrame.TextRange.Text = str i = i + 1 End If NextHere the excel values we are using are in column A, and i is used as the counter to directly access column A rows from the Excel. This is how the output will look:
Example 3: Content control Text box from Developer tab
For this we will be using the Title property of a textbox to access it. The title can be set using the properties option of a textbox from the Developer Tab. The code is very similar to that in example 2
For Each cc In oDoc.ContentControls If cc.Title = "Text1" Then cc.Range.Text = "Hello World!" Exit For End If Next ccFor multiple textboxes, you can match the title of the text box to the corresponding range in Excel and easily loop through.
Example 4: Headers and Footers
This code will add Headers and Footers on all the pages of Section 1 of the Word Document. The text can easily be taken from an Excel file.
With oDoc.Sections(1) .Headers.Item(1).Range.Text = "Header text" .Footers.Item(1).Range.Text = "Footer text" End WithHere is how the header and footer will look like.
And here’s all the above code put together for easy reference:Sub copyToWord() Dim oApp As Object 'Word.Application Dim oDoc As Object 'Word.Document Dim sDocName As String Dim path As String Dim fileName As String Dim noOfFields As Integer Dim varName As String Dim wb fileName = Application.GetOpenFilename(, , "Select the word Document") Set wb = ThisWorkbook On Error Resume Next Set oApp = GetObject(, "Word.Application") 'See if word is already running If Err.Number <> 0 Then 'Word isn't running so start it Set oApp = CreateObject("Word.Application") End If On Error GoTo Error_Handler_Exit Set oDoc = oApp.Documents.Open(fileName) oApp.Visible = True 'Bookmarks Set oBkMrk = oApp.ActiveDocument.Bookmarks("Table1") Set objRange = oBkMrk.Range.Characters.last objRange.Start = objRange.Start + 1 Range("Table1").Copy objRange.PasteExcelTable False, False, False 'Textbox Dim str As String Dim i i = 1 For Each shp In oDoc.Shapes If shp.Type = msoTextBox Then str = ThisWorkbook.Sheets("Sheet1").Cells(i, 1).Value shp.TextFrame.TextRange.Text = str i = i + 1 End If Next 'Textbox Content Control For Each cc In oDoc.ContentControls If cc.Title = "Text1" Then cc.Range.Text = "Hello World!" Exit For End If Next cc 'Headers and Footers With oDoc.Sections(1) .Headers.Item(1).Range.Text = "Header goes here" .Footers.Item(1).Range.Text = "Footer goes here" End With oDoc.Save Error_Handler_Exit: On Error Resume Next Set oDoc = Nothing Set oApp = Nothing Exit Sub Error_Handler: MsgBox "The following error has occured." & vbCrLf & vbCrLf & _ "Error Number: " & Err.Number & vbCrLf & _ "Error Source: UpdateDoc" & vbCrLf & _ "Error Description: " & Err.Description, _ vbCritical, "An Error has Occured!" Resume Error_Handler_Exit End Sub
Using Excel VBA to create Microsoft Word documents
In these examples, we generate Microsoft Word Documents with various formatting features using
the Microsoft Excel VBA scripting language. These techniques can have many useful applications.
For instance if you have a list of data like a price or product list in Excel that you want to present
in a formatted Word Document, these techniques can prove useful.
In these examples, we assume the reader has at least basic knowledge of VBA, so we will not
go over basics of creating and running scripts. This code has been tested on Microsoft Word and Excel
2007. Some changes may be required for other versions of Word and Excel.
Writing to Word
Inserting a Table of Contents
Inserting Tabs
Inserting Tables
Inserting Bullet List
more on Inserting Tables
Multiple Features
Function that demonstrates VBA writing to a Microsoft Word document
The following code illustrates the use of VBA Word.Application object and related properties.
In this example, we create a new Word Document add some text.
'In Tools > References, add reference to "Microsoft Word XX.X Object Library" before running. 'Early Binding Dim wdApp As Word.Application Set wdApp = New Word.Application 'Alternatively, we can use Late Binding 'Dim wdApp As Object 'Set wdApp = CreateObject("word.Application") With wdApp .Visible = True .Activate .Documents.Add With .Selection .ParagraphFormat.Alignment = wdAlignParagraphCenter .Font.Bold = True .Font.Name = "arial" .Font.Size = 14 .TypeText ("My Heading") .TypeParagraph End With End With
Some VBA Vocabulary
ParagraphFormat
Represents all the formatting for a paragraph.
output in MS Word:
Inserting a Table of Contents into Word Document using Excel VBA
In this example, we generate a Table of Contents into a Word Document using Excel VBA
Sub sAddTableOfContents() Dim wdApp As Word.Application Set wdApp = New Word.Application 'Alternatively, we can use Late Binding 'Dim wdApp As Object 'Set wdApp = CreateObject("word.Application") Dim wdDoc As Word.Document Set wdDoc = wdApp.Documents.Add ' Note we define a Word.range, as the default range wouled be an Excel range! Dim myWordRange As Word.range Dim Counter As Integer wdApp.Visible = True wdApp.Activate 'Insert Some Headers With wdApp For Counter = 1 To 5 .Selection.TypeParagraph .Selection.Style = "Heading 1" .Selection.TypeText "A Heading Level 1" .Selection.TypeParagraph .Selection.TypeText "Some details" Next End With ' We want to put table of contents at the top of the page Set myWordRange = wdApp.ActiveDocument.range(0, 0) wdApp.ActiveDocument.TablesOfContents.Add _ range:=myWordRange, _ UseFields:=False, _ UseHeadingStyles:=True, _ LowerHeadingLevel:=3, _ UpperHeadingLevel:=1 End Sub
Some VBA Vocabulary
ActiveDocument.TablesOfContents.Add
The TablesOfContents property to return the TablesOfContents collection.
Use the Add method to add a table of contents to a document.
Some TablesOfContents Parameters
Range
The range where you want the table of contents to appear. The table of contents replaces the range, if the range isn’t collapsed.
UseHeadingStyles
True to use built-in heading styles to create the table of contents. The default value is True.
UpperHeadingLevel
The starting heading level for the table of contents. Corresponds to the starting value used with the o switch for a Table of Contents (TOC) field. The default value is 1.
LowerHeadingLevel
The ending heading level for the table of contents. Corresponds to the ending value used with the o switch for a Table of Contents (TOC) field. The default value is 9.
output Word Table in MS Word:
Write Microsoft Word Tabs
A function that writes tabbed content to a Microsoft Word Document. Note in each iteration, we change the
value of the leader character (characters that are inserted in the otherwise blank area created by the tab).
Public Sub sWriteMicrosoftTabs() 'In Tools > References, add reference to "Microsoft Word XX.X Object Library" before running. 'Early Binding Dim wdApp As Word.Application Set wdApp = New Word.Application 'Alternatively, we can use Late Binding 'Dim wdApp As Object 'Set wdApp = CreateObject("word.Application") With wdApp .Visible = True .Activate .Documents.Add For Counter = 1 To 3 .Selection.TypeText Text:=Counter & " - Tab 1 " ' position to 2.5 inches .Selection.Paragraphs.TabStops.Add Position:=Application.InchesToPoints(2.5), _ Leader:=Counter, Alignment:=wdAlignTabLeft .Selection.TypeText Text:=vbTab & " - Tab 2 " ' position to 5 inches .Selection.Paragraphs.TabStops.Add Position:=Application.InchesToPoints(5), _ Leader:=Counter, Alignment:=wdAlignTabLeft .Selection.TypeText Text:=vbTab & " - Tab 3 " .Selection.TypeParagraph Next Counter End With End Sub
Some VBA Vocabulary
.TabStops.Add
Use the TabStops property to return the TabStops collection. In the example above,
nprogram adds a tab stop positioned at 0, 2.5 and 5 inches.
output in MS Word:
Write Microsoft Word Tables
In this example, we generate a Microsoft Table using Excel VBA
Sub sWriteMSWordTable () 'In Tools > References, add reference to "Microsoft Word XX.X Object Library" before running. 'Early Binding Dim wdApp As Word.Application Set wdApp = New Word.Application 'Alternatively, we can use Late Binding 'Dim wdApp As Object 'Set wdApp = CreateObject("word.Application") With wdApp .Visible = True .Activate .Documents.Add With .Selection .Tables.Add _ Range:=wdApp.Selection.Range, _ NumRows:=1, NumColumns:=3, _ DefaultTableBehavior:=wdWord9TableBehavior, _ AutoFitBehavior:=wdAutoFitContent For counter = 1 To 12 .TypeText Text:="Cell " & counter If counter <> 12 Then .MoveRight Unit:=wdCell End If Next End With End With End Sub
Some VBA vocabulary
Table.Add
Table object that represents a new, blank table added to a document.
Table.Add properties
Range
The range where you want the table to appear. The table replaces the range, if the range isn’t collapsed.
NumRows
The number of rows you want to include in the table.
NumColumns
The number of columns you want to include in the table.
DefaultTableBehavior
Sets a value that specifies whether Microsoft Word automatically resizes cells in tables to fit the cells� contents (AutoFit). Can be either of the following constants: wdWord8TableBehavior (AutoFit disabled) or wdWord9TableBehavior (AutoFit enabled). The default constant is wdWord8TableBehavior.
AutoFitBehavior
Sets the AutoFit rules for how Word sizes tables. Can be one of the WdAutoFitBehavior constants.
output in MS Word:
Write Microsoft Word bullet list
In this example, we write with bullet list and outline numbers with Excel VBA
'In Tools > References, add reference to "Microsoft Word XX.X Object Library" before running. 'Early Binding Dim wdApp As Word.Application Set wdApp = New Word.Application 'Alternatively, we can use Late Binding 'Dim wdApp As Object 'Set wdApp = CreateObject("word.Application") With wdApp .Visible = True .Activate .Documents.Add ' turn on bullets .ListGalleries(wdBulletGallery).ListTemplates(1).Name = "" .Selection.Range.ListFormat.ApplyListTemplate ListTemplate:=.ListGalleries(wdBulletGallery).ListTemplates(1), _ continuepreviouslist:=False, applyto:=wdListApplyToWholeList, defaultlistbehavior:=wdWord9ListBehavior With .Selection .ParagraphFormat.Alignment = wdAlignParagraphLeft .Font.Bold = False .Font.Name = "Century Gothic" .Font.Size = 12 .TypeText ("some details") .TypeParagraph .TypeText ("some details") .TypeParagraph End With ' turn off bullets .Selection.Range.ListFormat.RemoveNumbers wdBulletGallery With .Selection .ParagraphFormat.Alignment = wdAlignParagraphLeft .TypeText ("some details") .TypeParagraph .TypeText ("some details") .TypeParagraph End With ' turn on outline numbers .ListGalleries(wdOutlineNumberGallery).ListTemplates(1).Name = "" .Selection.Range.ListFormat.ApplyListTemplate ListTemplate:=.ListGalleries(wdOutlineNumberGallery).ListTemplates(1), _ continuepreviouslist:=False, applyto:=wdListApplyToWholeList, defaultlistbehavior:=wdWord9ListBehavior With .Selection .ParagraphFormat.Alignment = wdAlignParagraphLeft .TypeText ("some details") .TypeParagraph .TypeText ("some details") End With End With
output in MS Word:
Another example of Writing Tables to Microsoft Word
In this example we will create a word document with 20 paragraphs. Each paragraph will have a header with a header style element
'In Tools > References, add reference to "Microsoft Word XX.X Object Library" before running. Dim wdApp As Word.Application Dim wdDoc As Word.Document Set wdApp = New Word.Application wdApp.Visible = True Dim x As Integer Dim y As Integer wdApp.Visible = True wdApp.Activate wdApp.Documents.Add wdApp.ActiveDocument.Tables.Add Range:=wdApp.Selection.Range, NumRows:=2, NumColumns:= _ 2, DefaultTableBehavior:=wdWord9TableBehavior, AutoFitBehavior:= _ wdAutoFitFixed With wdApp.Selection.Tables(1) If .Style <> "Table Grid" Then .Style = "Table Grid" End If .ApplyStyleHeadingRows = True .ApplyStyleLastRow = False .ApplyStyleFirstColumn = True .ApplyStyleLastColumn = False .ApplyStyleRowBands = True .ApplyStyleColumnBands = False End With With wdApp.Selection For x = 1 To 2 ' set style name .Style = "Heading 1" .TypeText "Subject" & x .TypeParagraph .Style = "No Spacing" For y = 1 To 20 .TypeText "paragraph text " Next y .TypeParagraph Next x ' new paragraph .TypeParagraph ' toggle bold on .Font.Bold = wdToggle .TypeText Text:="show some text in bold" .TypeParagraph 'toggle bold off .Font.Bold = wdToggle .TypeText "show some text in regular front weight" .TypeParagraph End With
Some VBA vocabulary
TypeText
Inserts specified text at the beginning of the current selection. The selection is turned into an insertion point at the end of the inserted text.
If Options.ReplaceSelection = True then the original selection will be replaced. This behaves exactly the same as typing some text at the keyboard.
TypeParagraph
Insert a new blank paragraph. The selection is turned into an insertion point after the inserted paragraph mark. If Options.ReplaceSelection = True then the original selection will be replaced. This behaves exactly the same as pressing the Enter key.
output in MS Word:
Generating a Word table with VBA
'In Tools > References, add reference to "Microsoft Word XX.X Object Library" before running. Dim wdApp As Word.Application Dim wdDoc As Word.Document Dim r As Integer Set wdApp = CreateObject("Word.Application") wdApp.Visible = True Set wdDoc = wdApp.Documents.Add wdApp.Activate Dim wdTbl As Word.Table Set wdTbl = wdDoc.Tables.Add(Range:=wdDoc.Range, NumRows:=5, NumColumns:=1) With wdTbl .Borders(wdBorderTop).LineStyle = wdLineStyleSingle .Borders(wdBorderLeft).LineStyle = wdLineStyleSingle .Borders(wdBorderBottom).LineStyle = wdLineStyleSingle .Borders(wdBorderRight).LineStyle = wdLineStyleSingle .Borders(wdBorderHorizontal).LineStyle = wdLineStyleSingle .Borders(wdBorderVertical).LineStyle = wdLineStyleSingle For r = 1 To 5 .Cell(r, 1).Range.Text = ActiveSheet.Cells(r, 1).Value Next r End With
output in MS Word:
Option Explicit Dim wdApp As Word.Application Sub extractToWord() 'In Tools > References, add reference to "Microsoft Word 12 Object Library" before running. Dim lastCell Dim rng As Range Dim row As Range Dim cell As Range Dim arrayOfColumns arrayOfColumns = Array("", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "") Dim thisRow As Range Dim thisCell As Range Dim myStyle As String ' get last cell in column B lastCell = getLastCell() Set rng = Range("B2:H" & lastCell) 'iterate through rows For Each thisRow In rng.Rows 'iterate through cells in row row For Each thisCell In thisRow.Cells If thisCell.Value = arrayOfColumns(thisCell.Column) Or thisCell.Value = "" Then ' do nothing ''frWriteLine thisCell.Value, "Normal" ''frWriteLine arrayOfColumns(thisCell.Column), "Normal" If thisCell.Value = arrayOfColumns(thisCell.Column) Or thisCell.Value = "" Then End If Else myStyle = "Normal" Select Case thisCell.Column Case 2 myStyle = "Heading 1" Case 3 myStyle = "Heading 2" Case 4 myStyle = "Heading 3" Case Is > 5 myStyle = "Normal" End Select frWriteLine thisCell.Value, myStyle End If arrayOfColumns(thisCell.Column) = thisCell.Value Next thisCell Next thisRow End Sub Public Function getLastCell() As Integer Dim lastRowNumber As Long Dim lastRowString As String Dim lastRowAddress As String With ActiveSheet getLastCell = .Cells(.Rows.Count, 2).End(xlUp).row End With End Function Public Function frWriteLine(someData As Variant, myStyle As String) If wdApp Is Nothing Then Set wdApp = New Word.Application With wdApp .Visible = True .Activate .Documents.Add End With End If With wdApp With .Selection .ParagraphFormat.Alignment = wdAlignParagraphCenter .Style = myStyle .TypeText (someData) .TypeParagraph End With End With End Function
output in MS Word: